Profile

Dambulla International Cricket Stadium is the newest cricket venue in Sri
Lanka. The Stadium is situated in the North Central Province, close to
Dambulla, an agricultural trading town also famous for its ancient UNESCO
protected Buddhist Cave Temples which date back to 85 B.C. Built in a
stunning location, looking out over the Dambulla Tank (reservoir) and the
Dambulla Rock, the 30,000-seater stadium was constructed in just 167 days
with the inaugural one-day international match being played between Sri
Lanka and England in March 2000. Was later starved of international cricket
after complications with the lease - the 60-acre site was leased from the
Rangiri Dambulla Temple - and the contractors. Situated in the dry zone, the
original rationale behind the project - which was funded by the Board of
Control for Cricket (BCCSL) and championed by the then BCCSL President,
Thilanga Sumathipala - was that it provided Sri Lanka with the potential to
host one-day matches throughout the year. International cricket finally
returned in May 2003, the venue staging all seven matches of the tournament
because of monsoon rains in the south. The pitch is still bowler friendly -
for the seamers in the morning because of the high water table and heavy
sweating and in the afternoon for the spinners when the pitch can crumble.
Floodlights were installed in 2003.